Hospital soundscapes: Perception analysis of acoustics environment in intensive care unit

The quality of acoustic environment can be measured according to soundscape dimensions. The study of soundscape dimension has been conducted mainly in an urban area and resulting soundscape dimensions for soundscape rating. In an urban area, the main noise sources (such as traffic noise or construction noise) usually do not contain valuable information. However, in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital, the characteristic of main noise sources are different. Our previous study shows that some main noise sources (medical equipment) are expected to be heard and important for the nurses because the noise sources contain valuable information regarding patient's condition. Due to the characteristic difference, the soundscape dimensions in ICU might be different from the urban soundscape. The aim of this study is to define soundscape dimension for ICU from the nurse's point of view. A questionnaire using semantic differential scale was distributed to the nurses to find out their perception to acoustics environment in ICU. The result is then analyzed using principal component analysis to determine the soundscape dimensions for ICU. The soundscape dimension obtained can further be used as a tool in evaluating the soundscape of ICU. Initial study shows that the soundscape of ICU can be described in terms of information, calmness, and dynamics.